The number of Los Angeles residents experiencing chronic homelessness continues to grow even after housing over 10,000 individuals in the past three years. This tells us that the flow of individuals into chronic homelessness is unabated — the pathways have not been closed. Multiple failures create these paths into homelessness and chronic homelessness: families, schools, social services, health and mental health care, the criminal justice system, lack of affordable housing, and a stagnant labor market.

The purpose of this report is to provide tools for preventing homelessness. Prevention is critical for reducing the number of people who experience homelessness as well as the number who become chronically homeless. Housing alone will not provide a solution until the pathways into homelessness are nar- rowed. Given the size of Los Angeles’ homeless population, needs now overwhelm available solutions.